It’s a significant day for broking powerhouse Aston Lark as it releases its first set of financial results since Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division took a majority stake in the firm in September last year.
The accounting period brought to light a number of highlights for the firm – including revenue increasing by 25% to £71.6 million. Meanwhile, organic commission and fee growth jumped 3.4%, a result the company deemed positive “against a backdrop of the highly competitive market and the economic environment.” EBITDA meanwhile, saw growth of 30%, with adjusted EBITDA of £26.9 million, up 40% when adjusted for a full 12 months of acquisitions.
Speaking of those acquisitions, Aston Lark secured six in total during 2019 – wrapping up deals for Robertson Low Insurances Limited, a Dublin-based broker; Jobson James Insurance Brokers Limited and Jobson James Consulting Limited, a Birmingham-based Chartered insurance broker; Highworth Insurance Limited, which has a footprint across the south region; Buckland Harvester Insurance Brokers, a Manchester-based broker; Wright Group Brokers Limited, which is located in Ireland; and Protean Risk Limited, a specialist Lloyd’s broker.
With the company following up those deals with several acquisitions in 2020 already, and now having more than 900 people across 30 offices in the UK and Ireland, group CEO Peter Blanc is confident about the firm’s future.
“We are delighted with the progress we have made and are thrilled to have completed the investment by Goldman Sachs,” he said. “It is also a great vote of confidence in the Aston Lark team that Bowmark have agreed to reinvest alongside Goldman Sachs.
“We continue to be hugely proud of our Chartered Insurance Broker status and we remain very keen to talk to like-minded brokers seeking an independent future. Our goal is to create the UK’s most trusted Chartered Insurance Broker.”
Looking forward, Blanc noted the strains of COVID-19, but stressed that the business has responded well.
“2020 is turning into a year which we would never have imagined in January,” he said. “The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic across the globe has not only had significant human and economic impact but has also caused massive disruption for businesses across the UK.
“Within Aston Lark, we acted swiftly to transition to a working from home environment to ensure the safety of our employees and place a key emphasis on maintaining close communications with our clients via a wide range of information, support and tools to keep them updated on developments and help them navigate their way along the road to recovery.
“To date our trading performance has held up extremely well, although we are acutely aware of the ongoing impacts of the pandemic and we will continue to closely monitor the operational, financial and macro-economic impacts as they play through.
“Despite COVID-19, the business is not being distracted from its aims of considering further selective strategic acquisitions as part of our growth plans. We hope to make further announcements soon as we continue to complete deals in our healthy pipeline.”
